South Hams Friends of the Earth

Awkward Questions to be Asked About Planning Proposals
1. What cost comparisons have been undertaken against other disposal solutions?
a. Check for exclusions and limitations
b. Check the validity of the figures quoted
2. Have comparisons of environmental impact of the proposed solutions been made, such as a Sustainability Assessment?
3. How and where is the ash going to be disposed of?
a. Around 40% by volume of the input waste stream is ash, made up of bottom ash and toxic fly ash which has to go to a land fill site accredited for hazardous waste.

1. AN EXAMPLE OF AN ALTERNATIVE TO WASTE INCINERATION
Here is one alternative to a Large Waste Incinerator. Wakefield Council have chosen this alternative waste solution rather than a large waste incinerator. It focuses on Composting, Re-use and Recycling. Reducing waste does not compromise the economics of the proposal.
Overview Page: http://www.wakefieldrecycling.com/
Details Page with description of facilities and a downloadable animation: http://www.wakefieldrecycling.com/Thesites/SouthKirkby/Whatisproposedat/

2. DEFRA WASTE STRATEGY - INFORMATION ON TREATMENT OPTIONS

DEVON ALLIANCE AGAINST INCINERATORS (DAIA).
Some notes about incinerators which might be included in a latter to Devon County Councillors.
Incinerators do not eliminate waste, but change the form of waste into hazardous air emissions and toxic ash.
At the Lee mill site, Viridor plan to burn 275,000 tonnes of waste which will produce 12,000 tonnes of toxic ash. This ash will be transported to a landfill site at Bishops Cleave near Cheltenham. Such sites contaminate air, soil and water.

The new Climate Change Act means we have to start cutting carbon emissions, starting now, with 80% cuts by 2050. What will this mean for life in Devon? What will be the effect on jobs? What happens if the Government doesn’t obey the new law?

On Tuesday February 10th at 8pm in Totnes Guildhall, Roger Higman Head of Campaigns Coordination for National Friends of the Earth will explain what the new Act will mean for the Government, businesses and all of us in our everyday lives.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
Community Rights Resource Pack

This pack is to help local people and communities get their voice heard in decisions which affect them. It covers the three most important areas where people have rights in environmental decision-making:
• your right to know
• your right to participate
• your right to challenge

OUR RECYCLING
WHERE DOES IT ALL GO?

Waste from South Hams District Council’s kerbside recycling scheme is taken initially to the council's contractor, Severnside’s depot in Plymouth where it is sorted and baled ready for transporting for recycling. See www.severnside.com

BLUE SACKS
1. Paper and cardboard – reprocessed in the UK by St Regis Paper Company at Kemsley Paper Mill, Kent.

Part of the suite of the new Big Ask materials is an Action Guide on ‘Engaging Community Groups’:

community.foe.co.uk.

To help you to do this, we have put together a workshop for you to use.

If you are interested in finding out more we are organising two training days - to talk you through the workshop and any other queries you may have about how to engage community groups.

Birmingham 10 March, 10:30-5.00pm (Carrs Lane Church)

London 31 March, 10:30-5.00pm, (Friends of the Earth London office)

Well I made it back in one piece. The journey from Dorchester to Exeter was one of the toughest days - across the grain of the country in places like Lyme Regis where I was forced onto main roads again.

I've collected a lot of material along the way, and there will be much to reflect on before I give a presentation to the group before too long. Thanks to all those who sponsored me, and look forward to seeing you all again.

After two and a half months it was good to reach the sea - the end is now in sight. I have arranged to meet Sara in Cherbourg on September 7th - our 15th wedding anniversary, and we will sail back to Poole on the 10th. I hope to see some of you on Sept. 17th.

Cycling across Paris was a hair-raising experience - something I had never done, even when I lived there. The French cities I have passed have been doing some positive things with public transport, but the culture is still much more car dominated than the parts of Germany and Switzerland I saw.

This trip must have improved my Fre

I didn't fully appreciate quite how good it was cycling in Freiburg and district until I crossed the Rhine: boy racers, noisy mopeds pulling vertical wheelies, cycle paths like the British ones: discontinuous, full of holes and covered with glass - bienvenue en France!

The climb through les Vosges via le Col du Bonhomme was my worst day of the trip. The weather was foul, and I had no alternative to this vile Route Nationale, which climbs for over 20 km with double articulated HGVs whistling past my left ear! Added to which, the cold (yes the weather has changed that much) and rain was aggravating my aching right knee.